1 20 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/34455/archive/files/f0ec4c3bb9fbbe8989a01a6686769bb1.pdf?Expires=1779926400&Signature=Y4o-iKwZVaY6-vFrMJRFzaOrbi8ptUr%7E8QJSrP0F%7ExAR6NWYQp7HbweMvXQG8vi8nbsSbZiAU22IH9IP-kvoLdyrYwxJq-wkhm-oG9JFmGHvStNMPA5ff%7EJvB8x%7EA6Bg77ESXF6dxyE6NIbkohopQYcMBKvMin63TwVDwkkUA-YWjj6hbbuDSMZiRH8j4OocAB4MpBa%7EyyOG5WK9yEQpRukYnz1hLV5MaXZfX3xO9fN1D2L0tumCFqKPmAnZhJH2NYYHc2srpS7HaT2uc%7EL9GnHmBV8V43bRJcfJTFriVYrmGLR1eRL6yJ7N1R86wI7QxhUFTdqv97OOLfOX0PVIog__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM d90e09e37dba85e56f8cf415c9e32cf6 PDF Text Text Helene Ruth Brownstein Judah September 16, 2014 Helene Ruth's parents were Gertrude Feldbaum Brownstein and Louis Brownstein. Her father was born in the United States and her mother arrived as a three month-old child in 1897. Her mother's family came from Sheresheva, Russia. The family’s home was on Woodbourne, not too far from Belknap School, which she attended. Her father had a men's clothing manufacturing business but it folded as a result of the great depression of the 1930’s. That was a major event in American history. Following its closure, Helene Ruth's mother urged him to enter law school, which he did, graduating at the top of his class, and a successful career as a lawyer followed. He died on his birthday, October 11, 1962. Helene Ruth's mother died March 15,1990. Helene Ruth was the fourth child in her family, all girls, and is the only surviving member of the family. The Brownstein ladies included Bernice (Beecee). She married Lee Hildebrand. Jean married Murrel Winner and Fay married Albert Michelson. Helene Ruth has so many fond memories of her family life and her growing up years. It was difficult to list all of them. Her family had a couple’s monthly bridge game with the parents, siblings and their husbands. After she finished Belknap School, she attended Highland Junior High and later graduated from Atherton High School. She recently attended the 65-year reunion of her class. As Helene Ruth reminisced, she recalled the produce sellers in the summer who would often have a horse-drawn wagon from which they sold. They attracted buyers from the homes, most of which, were populated by families and homemakers. Their calls of “STRAWBERRIES” still rings in her mind. There were Donaldson’s trucks selling bakery goods and icemen who delivered blocks of ice to families who did not have refrigerators. The family would visit the “hay market” downtown as there was what seemed to be hundreds of local and nearby farmers anxious to sell fresh, homegrown produce of all kinds. She recalls the National Theater at the SW corner of Fifth and Walnut that in addition to films, also often featured live 1 �entertainment and appearances by movie stars. She also had a fondness for the Vogue Theater in St, Matthews and the Scoop Theater, which was on Walnut Street between 4th and 5th Streets, next to the Blue Boar Cafeteria. When World War II started, Helene Ruth was walking with a lot of schoolgirls through Seneca and Cherokee Parks on a Sunday afternoon. They ended up at Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road at the home of Dr. Shelton Mann. That is where she heard about the War having been started. Before WWII, her mother opened a store with “sundries”. It was located at the bottom of the hill on Baxter, near the L&N overpass. The employees were her mother, father, their maid, and her three sisters. Helene Ruth loved working there. Her Father did all of the business end of the store. She also ‘did her part’ for the war effort by having a “victory” garden in their backyard. She also attended Camp Ricorree, the day camp operated by the YMHA. Every day, during the summer, the whole camp was taken to Shelby Park to use the swimming pool that was located there. During the 1937 flood, (January-February) their home had 17 people living there since the Highlands stayed high and dry. They slept wherever they could find a spot, even in chairs. Many other families also kept friends and relatives safe until the water receded. With so many people around, that is when Helene Ruth learned to play cards. Helene Ruth’s grandfather, Jacob Brownstein, was a founder and president of Anshei Sfard Congregation, which, for years was located on First Street, between Chestnut and Walnut. He became president of the congregation. Years later, his son, Louis Brownstein, became president of the congregation. That site is now under the I-65 southbound lanes. When she was confirmed there she was the only girl in the class, which did not please her very much. Since then, she attended Adath Jeshurun, and she now is a member of The Temple. Baking at Adath Jeshurun for her sons' Bar Mitzvahs was so much fun, as many of the women came to bake for three days with her at the Synagogue so that the baked goods would be Kosher. Making breakfasts on Sunday mornings for the Bar Mitzvah Boys of the Synagogue were fun, also. The boys’ favorite treat was always French toast. 2 �She remembers many happy incidents and great friends. She felt safe and secure and enjoyed the social interactions she and her large circle of friends had. She recalls picnics and cookouts at Big Rock (Cherokee Park) and time spent swimming at Lakeside and Tucker’s Lake. She played “Peggy”, kick the can and hide and go seek in her neighborhood. She knows she was a part of what has rightfully been called a ‘favored’ generation. She was quite active socially and in the Jewish community. At that time, what is now known, as the JCC was simply the YMHA, or the “Y”. It was located on South Second Street at the corner of Jacob. She was a joiner and had membership in 5 high school clubs that met at the Y. This included Sweater Girls, Modern Femmes, BBG, KATS and Junior Hadassah. At the “Y”, she also participated regularly in gym classes and took ballet there even as a young child. Another event she still recalls is the time she and some friends did a most unusual activity; they rode their bikes out to Anchorage. It was pretty much a feat of endurance on the simple one-speed bikes of that time. Their route included LaGrange Road, now a route too busy for bike riders. Helene Ruth thinks she may have been about fifteen at the time. She seems to recall that her companions included Stuart Handmaker, Ed Post, Shirley Goldstein, Irvin Goldstein (no relation) and perhaps Billy Cohen. To complicate matters, it started to rain while on their way back. She was friends also with John Greenebaum who often “ran” with this crowd even though he was not on that jaunt, She recalls the kosher butchers, most of whom were located downtown on Preston, between Jefferson and Walnut. Later a kosher butcher located in the Highlands. She can still remember their names, including Shrager’s, and Hoffman’s. Greenwald’s delicatessen also relocated to Bardstown Road from their original site at the corner of Preston and Jefferson. Not to mix meat and milk, but just to recall, the Cherokee Dairy was a well known and favorite place for icecream and Heitzman's Bakery were places she frequented with her family in the summer. As Helene Ruth continued to open her past, she recalls the fun everyone had. Most of the high school clubs held formal dances, mostly at the Henry Clay Hotel (at third and Walnut) and a New 3 �Year's Eve dance every year at Adath Jeshurun's Community Hall. All had dances, formal dresses, corsages and just plain good times. She says it was a time of innocence and respect. The Brownstein and Leibson families often shared activities together long before Helene Ruth and Charlie met. Helene Ruth met Charles Leibson at the Y when she was 15 and had come there to write letters to servicemen during WWII. When she was 19, she married Charlie, who had two more years of law school to complete. Helene Ruth was also enrolled at LIL, but she went to work to support them. She got a job at the UJC office (United Jewish Campaign) and helped support their family while Charley worked at the law office of his father and brother-in-law in the afternoons. Helene Ruth typed his briefs at night. They had three sons. One lives in Louisville and the other two are in California. Her marriage to Charlie lasted 17 years. Several years later, she met Morris Judah at the Bowling Alley, married him, and they were married for 34 years. Morris died nine years ago. Today, she still has many friends as she continues to be a people person and making friends is her style. She plays bridge both locally and on line and has played with persons in 170 different countries. She feels she has led a charmed life and has so many happy memories and is quick to recall each one. Along with the good times, she easily admits how much she misses her many old friends and relatives and is blessed to be a senior citizen. She thinks that Louisville, Ky. is the best place to live! (Interview conducted by Irvin Goldstein, with improvements made by Helene Ruth) 4 �|4eUr>€. ZO^ M<*££(V Jvv h^t4 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, 2001-2018 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Jewish Family and Career Services (Louisville, Ky.) Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/" target="_blank" title="In Copyright" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> Language A language of the resource eng heb Type The nature or genre of the resource Collection Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 20th century 21st century Description An account of the resource Summaries of 206 interviews with Jewish community members in Louisville, Kentucky, conducted by Jewish Family and Career Services volunteers. Originally started by Ann Friedman, Director of Klein Older Adult Services, the project sent volunteers to listen to seniors and summarize their stories. The volunteers used a standardized script to ask community members about their family’s immigration to the United States and move to Louisville; their family and religious life in Louisville; and what they hoped their legacy would be. Some of the interviews include supplemental material on the narrators, such as resumes, obituaries, and photographs. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource bulk 2001-2018 1930s-1950s 1980s-2018 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 024x6_judahh Title A name given to the resource Interview with Helene Ruth Judah, 2014 Description An account of the resource Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Helene Ruth Judah on September 16, 2014. The summary is accompanied by photographs of Judah and her husband, Morris Judah. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Judah, Helene Ruth Goldstein, Irvin Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2014-09-16 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Report Photograph Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Still Image Subject The topic of the resource Interviews Jewish families Jews Judaism Jefferson County (Ky.) Kentucky Louisville (Ky.) Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 20th century 21st century Language A language of the resource eng Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived 024x6 Jewish Family and Career Services interviews, The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ Property rights in the collection belong to The Filson Historical Society. The Filson Historical Society can provide high-resolution scans of original source materials from its holdings for non-commercial and commercial use. To learn about this process, visit https://filsonhistorical.org/collections/order-reproductions/ Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Kentucky Jewish Family and Career Services (Louisville, Ky.)